1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus for processing a still image or images obtained from moving picture data, a digital image processing method, a program product for processing digital image, and a digital image printing system provided with a digital image processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, digital cameras or digital still cameras have been widespread thanks to development of the technology of image pick-up devices such as Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs). As the development of image pick-up devices has been progressed, a variety of digital image printing apparatus for printing digital images photographed by digital cameras onto printing paper have been developed. Also, digital cameras capable of photographing moving pictures as well as still images have been developed. An operator, even if having a poor photographing technique, can timely photograph a moving picture of a desired motion with such a digital camera by setting the camera at a moving picture mode, thereby effectively photographing a timely scene or a necessary scene.
In the above conventional digital image printing system, a desired frame image of a moving picture photographed by a digital camera cannot be printed on printing paper as it is as a still image without performing a specified image processing due to a difference in file format between a moving picture and a still image. Specifically, moving picture data is processed according to a moving picture format such as Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), and is compressed in such a manner that a difference between raw data and reference data exists as image data in each moving picture frame. Accordingly, such a moving picture frame cannot be printed on printing paper as a still image frame without performing a specified image processing. In view of the above, demanded is production of user-friendly or handy digital image processing apparatus capable of converting a moving picture frame in the form of compressed image data into a desired still image frame to be printed on printing paper, and a digital image printing system provided such a digital image processing apparatus. Further, it should be preferable that such image processing apparatus is applicable for a moving picture comprised of a series of still image frames in which image data of all the frames of the moving picture are recorded without compression.